Is it jealousy when you think, “ He minded, despised the possibility that I might be the head of the school.” “ Then the though struck me, Finny had deliberately been out to wreck my studies.” When a guy tells you, you are his best pal, a true friend would reply by giving some sort of nod or sign of the mutual feeling, but Gene never did that. He kept quiet because in his mind he knew that Finny was not his best friend. In his mind, Finny was out to get him when really he was just trying to be a good friend. Competition is what they had going according to Gene; Finny the best in sports and Gene in academics. But if that was the case than why is it that when Finny beat the school swimming record in front of Gene he did not want to tell others? If he wanted to look better than Gene then that would have been the best opportunity. When Finny drags Gene everywhere he assumes it’s because he wants to sabotage his studies, when really Finny just wants to spend all his exciting moments with his best friend, he wants to share it with Gene and no one else, which Gene mistakes for something else.
Mistakes, an everyday part of life. Some are big yet some are small but it’s the mistakes in friendship that leave a huge imprint behind in our lives, which we never tend to forget. Gene made one of those same mistakes by causing Finny to fall of the branch of a tree by jouncing the limb. These boys had formed a Super Suicide Society of the Summer Session. In this club they were to jump into the riverbank off of a high branch on a fairly high tree. This activity was limited to the seniors training for war, meaning it was off limits for them. But they always played around with rules and got away with it, and it was the same for this time. Well Finny insisted that this time they would jump together and Gene hesitantly agreed. Finny was farther out on the branch, while Gene was near the trunk. Gene jounced the limb and down fell Finny. His leg broke, making him handicapped for life. Let alone play sports again; he could not even walk properly. Gene felt guilt. He tried to apologize and admit, but he was in denial with himself. Finny never realized it was Gene, he thought it was no ones fault and Gene let him believe that. How reliable is a person if they can do that to their best friend?
As time went by they went home for vacations and were soon back for the Winter Session, except Finny wouldn’t be there, atleast not until later. Gene was to room by himself until Finny arrived back to school. Another schoolmate decided he wanted to stick his nose into other people’s business so he began to harass Gene to an extent as to where he determined to know if Gene was the cause of the “accident” that had happened. He denied it, to himself and the world. Why so much guilt? He deliberately jounced the limb, yet he denies it. When Finny was once again able to somewhat walk again, Gene caused him to fall; this time completely shattering his leg. Finny was rushed to the nurses “hospital” where Gene sneaked in to see him, Finny by this time had figured out the truth and didn’t want to see Gene. Finny was in just as much denial as Gene was. Finny didn’t want to believe that his best friend would do such a thing to him and Gene did not want to admit that he had done it. Gene had made a mistake that would leave an impact on him for the rest of his life.
During the operation, Finny died. Gene was not affected though. He had started out with nothing and ended up with nothing; even though everything was there for him, he chose to ignore it. True friendship is hard to find and once found shouldn’t be lost. Gene did everything he could for himself, he never thought of the people around him. Finny was a great friend and Gene never understood that or took into consideration what Finny was doing wasn’t for himself; atleast not until after he was gone. Even fifteen years later, looking back onto his life, Gene realizes that he had lost the greatest friend he would ever find, the friend that would teach him what true friendship would is, but he was gone, all because of Gene. Never do anything, which you will later regret when looking back on. Has that ever happened to you? Now put yourself in that position, how would you have felt?